] The United States delivered a protest to the government
] of President Vladimir Putin yesterday for refusing to
] stop Russian arms dealers from providing illegal weapons
] and assistance to the Iraqi military.
]
] Bush administration sources said one Russian company is
] helping the Iraqi military deploy electronic jamming
] equipment against U.S. planes and bombs, and two others
] have sold antitank missiles and thousands of night-vision
] goggles in violation of U.N. sanctions. The sources said
] Moscow has ignored entreaties from senior Bush
] administration officials concerned about the threat to
] U.S. forces.

3 Russian Firms' Deals Anger U.S. (washingtonpost.com)

] The White House is vowing a strong retaliatory response
] after the BBC aired live video of President Bush getting
] his hair coiffed in the Oval Office as he squirmed in his
] chair and practiced on the teleprompter minutes before
] Wednesday night's speech announcing the launch of
] military operations against Saddam Hussein.
]
] "The facts are that it was an unauthorized use of footage
] and video," a senior White House official told us, asking
] not to be named. "Both the BBC and CBS have apologized,
] and it would be understandable if this were the only time
] this has happened. I'm not suggesting it was intentional,
] but this kind of thing has happened more than once."
]
] Henceforth, the official said, the White House -- not the
] networks -- will throw the switches that make pool feeds
] available to broadcast outlets. "There have been too many
] incidents," the official said, listing various
] presidential speeches allegedly marred by pool-feed
] glitches. "We have to make sure we are comfortable with
] the situation."

Someone really needs to meme a link to video of this..

BBC Catches Bush Getting Primed for Battle

] Traveling unescorted into Safwan today, I got a far
] different picture. Rather than affection and
] appreciation, I saw a lot of hostility toward the
] coalition forces, the United States and President Bush.
]
] Some were even directed towards the media. (It was the
] first time I heard somebody refer to me as a "Satan.")
]
] To be sure, conversations with people on the street here
] begin relatively calmly. But the more they talked, the
] angrier they got.
]
] In part, much of their discontent stems from the unknown.
] In speaking with them, the newly-liberated Iraqis ask the
] same questions that seem to nag many outside Iraq.
]
] Why are you here in this country? Are you trying to take
] over? Are you going to take our country forever? Are the
] Israelis coming next? Are you here to steal our oil? When
] are you going to get out?

... much of this will subside fast if aid follows on the heels of the troops.. and transition from occupation to self governance moves at a rapid rate.

Of course, the war is far from over too..

ABCNEWS.com : 'Liberated' Iraqis Question U.S. Motives

] Thousands of Arabs seething with anger about a heavy
] U.S.-led bombing of Baghdad protested for a third day on
] Saturday, amid concern the demonstrations could threaten
] stability in the volatile region.
]
] With live footage of the fiery explosions and burning
] buildings in Iraq beamed into most Arab homes, feelings
] are running high over what many consider a sinister ploy
] to dominate the Arab world.
]
] "Did you see all those bombs falling on TV? All the poor
] people? And for what? America wants to subjugate the
] entire region for the sake of Israel. They want to bring
] the Arabs to their knees," said 50-year-old Egyptian
] housewife Samia.
]
] Some analysts say the widespread and sometimes violent
] anti-war protests, from Arab states in the Gulf to
] Morocco on the Atlantic, have the potential to undermine
] stability in a region described by one expert as a
] "cauldron of discontent."

Reuters | Arabs Seethe as TV Brings Iraq Destruction Home

] U.S. Army General Guy Shields, director of the Coalition
] Press Information Center in Kuwait, said he had reports
] that reporters came under fire in four separate incidents
] while operating independently of U.S. or British forces.
]
] "We have had phone calls from journalists who have called
] the press desk while under fire screaming for help," he
] told a news briefing.

US Has Reports of 3 Media Casualties in South Iraq (washingtonpost.com)

] TotalFinaElf (TOTF.PA) shut its oil production facilities
] in Nigeria's western delta and evacuated workers on
] Saturday because of spiraling violence that has left
] dozens of people dead, company officials said.
]
] A Reuters correspondent saw a helicopter land in the oil
] city of Warri, bringing the first group of workers
] fleeing tribal fighting in oilfields around the Escravos
] export terminal.
]
] The group was accompanied by armed soldiers.
]
] The officials said the helicopters were ferrying
] frightened workers from various TotalFinaElf facilities
] including the Opumami tank farm, the French oil firm's
] most important facility in the Obodo district where it
] produces 7,500 barrels per day of crude.
]
] But there was no immediate official confirmation to
] reports that militants had set fire to part of the tank
] farm.

Reuters | Violence in Nigeria Oil Fields

Eyewitness account of the bombing a few hours ago:

] Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's main presidential
] palace, a great rampart of a building 20 stories high,
] simply exploded in front of me -- a cauldron of fire,
] a 100ft sheet of flame and a sound that had my ears
] singing for an hour after. The entire, massively
] buttressed edifice shuddered under the impact. Then four
] more Cruise missiles came in.
. . .
] No doubt this morning the Iraqi minister of information
] will address us all again and insist that Iraq will prevail.
] We shall see. But many Iraqis are now asking an obvious
] question: How many days? Not because they want the Americans
] or the British in Baghdad, though they may profoundly wish
] it. But because they want this violence to end: Which, when
] you think of it, is exactly why these raids took place.

ArabNews: Baghdad's Night of Terror

Another regularly updated page from BBC. This is charts the latest developments in the Iraq conflict.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iraq latest: At-a-glance

] The BBC's unrivalled team of correspondents is bringing
] you news from the Gulf and reaction from around the
] world. On this page BBC News Online logs their
] impressions and personal experiences as they watch events
] unfold.

This is _the page_ on BBC. Regularly updated reports from BBC reporters all over the place, weblog style.

BBC NEWS | In Depth | Reporters' Log: War in Iraq

]Achieving Rapid Dominance
]Written By: Harlan K. Ullman and James P. Wade
]With: L.A. "Bud" Edney, Fred M. Franks, Charles A. Horner, Jonathan ]T. Howe, and Keith Brendley

No matter how much the media wants to throw around this newest buzz-term, hardly any of them either know or care to mention where it comes from. This book supposedly proposes some if not most of the strategy being used by the military in iraq.

Shock & Awe, The Book